Yhwach is a man who goes by many names—Your Majesty, Father of the Quincy, Emperor of the Wandenreich, but fans of Bleach have no problem keeping up with him. Those who’ve seen the Thousand Year Blood War Arc know that Yhwach is the primary antagonist of the arc and one of the most terrifying antagonists in the Bleach Storyline.
With his intricate history and arsenal full of powers that outmatch any, Yhwach marched towards his goal to create a world without the fear of death, challenging the protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki, in the process. Even though Yhwach needs no introduction, some information about the headstrong character could easily slip past viewers. So here are ten things fans may not know about Yhwach.
This post contains spoilers from the Thousand Year Blood War Arc in the Bleach manga series.
10 Yhwach Has a Unique Bloodline
When Yhwach reveals that he is the son of the Soul King, many parts of his history start to make more sense. He had some baffling powers as a child, was worshipped by the Quincies, and was even addressed by the name of their god.
He’s called the father of the Quincy because his blood runs through that of every Quincy. This blood gives him his connection to the Soul King and his unwavering determination to end him. His Quincy blood also helps him manipulate Ichigo into killing the Soul King.
9 Yhwach Was Born Paralyzed
Another thing that Yhwach’s connection to the soul king explains is the state in which he was born. He was born without sight or the ability to speak, smell, hear, or move. But he could heal others with his soul.
Naturally, people wanted to receive healing from him, so they kept coming to him. But the healing he gave them had a catch. It connected their souls to him so that he would gain their essence when they died and the original fragments of his soul returned to him.
8 Yhwach First Bestowed a Schrift on Lille Barro
After Yhwach first began giving out fragments of his soul through healing, he created a more efficient way to get the job done. By assigning a letter to someone’s soul, Yhwach could give out the fragment of his soul more deeply.
The first person to receive a letter was Lille Barro, who got the letter ‘X’ engraved on his soul. This letter manifested the ability called ‘The X-Axis,’ allowing him to pierce anything with his rifle. It also made him difficult to hit because attacks can pass through his body without effect.
7 Yhwach Isn’t The Only One Who Can Grant Others Powers
Yhwach’s ability to grant powers to others is a significant reason for his appeal to members of the Quincies and viewers too. But this power isn’t limited to him. When he tells Haschwalth to join the Sternritter, Haschwalth chooses humility and offers Bazz-B as a better option for the position.
But Yhwach then reveals that he sees Haschwalth as his other half because he can also give powers to others, an ability that no other Quincy shares with him. Because of this, Haschwalth becomes Yhwach’s right-hand man.
6 Yhwach Is A Dark Messiah
Already considered to be on the level of a god, it is no surprise that, in the eyes of the Quincies, Yhwach carries a massive responsibility on his shoulders. They see him as their herald and soon-to-be salvation.
To the Quincies, he is a savior, but to everyone else, he is evil personified and someone to be afraid of or wish to be completely wiped out. And it turns out that his salvation to the Quincies isn’t entirely beneficial. His healing comes with the downside of getting connected to his soul.
5 Yhwach Is A Controversial Name
Yhwach is written out as ユーハバッハ in the manga, which is pronounced as ‘yūhabahha,’ but the pronunciation of his name still wasn’t clear to most. And the problem intensified when official translations chose to use ‘Juhabach’ or another version, ‘Juha Bach.’
In a release of the manga in Japan, however, the name was finally spelled out as YHWACH. But the pronunciation still wasn’t certain. After several versions of pronunciations, the anime finally used the pronunciation ‘Yu-ha-ba-ha.’ Despite this clarification, the Italian and German dubs deviate and use other pronunciations.
4 Yhwach And Yamamoto Have A Similar History
Yhwach and Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto are surprisingly similar. The Gotei 13 Captain-Commander was once just like Yhwach and even admired by him. Being ancient and powerful, Yhwach and Yamamoto are unmatched in their different endeavors.
According to Yhwach, about a thousand years ago, Yamamoto was seen as a demon, a powerful and relentlessly cruel leader, just like Yhwach. But now, Yamamoto regrets his former self and has become less cruel. Yhwach, on the other hand, remains just as he was, trying to achieve his goals by using people in wicked ways.
3 Yhwach’s Shadow Portals Are Unique
Among Yhwach’s many abilities is the ability to teleport through shadow portals. It is a power shared by the Quincy, who can create portals as a path to other dimensions using their shadow. However, unlike the others, Yhwach manifests this power more efficiently and with fewer limits.
He can go to the Soul Society with his shadow portals and can even think of people he needs to see and bring them the shadow portals. He can also teleport to Silbern, though he can only remain outside briefly.
2 Yhwach Has a Special Kind of Clairvoyance
Bleach viewers easily recognize Yhwach’s most popular ability, ‘The Almighty,’ when he splits his irises and pupils. This clairvoyance ability stands out because it gives Yhwach the power to perceive and adapt to multiple potential futures, bringing them into the present moment.
Despite how impressive and unbeatable it seems, The Almighty is limited by its inability to interact with the past and its susceptibility to illusions and to countermeasures such as Tsukishima's power to alter the past and Orihime's ability to reject a reality that Yhwach wishes to be concrete.
1 Yhwach Is Driven by Fear
Yhwach's savagery and brutality are merely manifestations of his inner turmoil and fear. His ultimate goal of destroying the Soul King and merging the three worlds stems from a desire to form a world that joins life and death and makes all living beings immortal.
His longing for this world speaks volumes about his underlying fear of dying. Yhwach is willing to do any evil deed to achieve his goal regardless of the effect on others. He ultimately becomes a tragic figure who cannot confront his own fear of mortality.q